Combination chair and bed



Jly 17, 19.56 R, LA PALME COMBINATION CHAIR AND BED Filed June 30. 1952I| :(IIIII/lllllllllllllllllllll@ f 1 R9 I \5s'\ oefffaZ/ab COMBINATIONCHAIR AND BED Robert La Palme, Ste. Adele-en-Haut, Quebec, CanadaApplication June 30, 1952, Serial No. 296,277

7 claims. (ci. 15s-4s) This invention relates to combination furniture.

Various attempts have been made to provide furniture which can be usedas a chair and can be readily converted into a couch or bed. Most ofthese devices are complicated and diicult to make and use.

The applicant has now devised a combination chair and bed which issimple and cheap to make and easy to use. This device is of the typewhich includes a seat part and a back part which are pivotally linked sothat the back part can be swung down into alignment with the seat partto constitute a bed or couch.

Broadly speaking, the furniture includes a seat member and a back memberpivotally connected together so that they can be swung into bed or couchposition or into chair position. The seat member has a front end and aback end and the back member a front end and a back end. The back end ofthe seat member is pivotally connected to the front end of the backmember so that the back member can be pivoted into substantiallyhorizontal relationship with the seat member to form a bed or intotransverse relationship therewith to form a chair. Front leg membersform a part of the front end of the seat member. Intermediate legmembers form a part of the front end of the back member. Rear legmembers are pivotally related to the back end of the back member. Theintermediate leg members serve to support the intermediate portion ofthe furniture when in chair or bed position. The back leg members areadapted to support the back end of the back member when in bed positionand are adapted to be folded into stowed relationship to the back memberwhen the furniture is in chair position.

More specifically, a preferred construction is as follows.

The seat and back parts each have frames adapted to carry the seat andback proper which are pivotally linked together. Each seat and backframe includes spacedapart structural side members. Each side memberincludes an elongated supporting side and a fore-leg part extending awayfrom the side and a rear supportable por` tion. Each seat side member issupported by pivotal connection to a back side member. Each back sidemember bears on its fore-leg part when in chair position or on said foreleg part pivoted to its supportable portion when pivoted into bedposition.

The structural side members can be panels of wood which are suitablyshaped to have a front leg portion and a rear supportable portion.

Or, the furniture may be made of rod or tube metal or other structuralmaterial. The seat part can be made of a continuous rod which forms boththe side members and a cross member connecting these members. The backpart can be made up of rods which form the front leg part and the sidemember and an L member pivoted to the rear part of each rod toconstitute either cross members when the device is set up or leg memberswhen the device is laid down as the bed.

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments are shown and inwhich:

rates Patent C) ice Figure l is a perspective view of the combinationfurniture set up as a chair with an associated stool attachment shownnext to it.

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross section through the device of Figure lwhen laid out as a bed or couch.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevationshowing the pivotal jointarrangement between the seat part and the back part of the device ofFigure 1.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation showing the way in which cross rods of theback rods are rotated outwards to form legs. y

Figure 5 is a rear elevation showing the connection of the cross rodsand side rods of the back part.

Figure 6 is a rear elevation, partly in section, showing the connectionbetween the respective cross rods of the back part. l

Figure 7 is a rear elevation partly in section showing Vthe connectionbetween the cross rods and theside rods.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of an alternative form of combinationfurniture according to the invention, set up as a chair.

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the furniture of Figure 8 set up as acouch.

Preferred form "A Referring more particularly to the drawings, thedevice includes a rod or tube A bent to form an open seat frameincluding side bars 10 and 11 and a front cross bar 15 and a rear crossbar 16. The rod A is bent, as shown in Figure 3, to providesubstantially vertical side portions 18 and 19 bent from the side bars10 and 11 and the cross bars 16. This is for purposes to be described.At the front of the seat portion are provided inverted L- shaped rod ortubular members B including a downwardlyextending leg portion 20 andhorizontal portions 21 eX- tending forwardly therefrom. The portions 21are held to the frame A for example, by welding.

The back portion includes an open frame C of tube or rod. This frame ismade up of side pieces30 and 31 which are bent as at 32 and 33. To thetop of each side piece 30 and 31 are connected L-members 36, 37 each ofwhich includes a threaded end 40 which tits into a tapped opening 41 inthe respective side piece.

Cross portions of the L-members extend across the back of the devicewhen set up as a chair. But, the ,L- members 36, 37 can be rotated withrespect to the side piece 31.

Where the L-members 36 and 37 meet at the center of the back they areconnected by a sliding bolt 44 which operates in a passage 45 in themember 36 and enters a passage 46 in a member 37. The bolt can bewithdrawn by sliding it from left to right (in the Figure 6) freeingthese members from one another. It is prevented from leaving the passage45 completely by' a projection 47.

The frames of the seat portion and the back portion are so related thatthe bends 32 and 33 in the side rods 30 and 31 are placed adjacent tothe crooks formed by the bend in the rod A. Rounded retainingmembers-,50 and 51 are welded to the rods 30 and 31to encircle the crossbar 16. By this construction the seat frame and the back frame arerotatably related to one another, the bar 16 being journalled in theenclosures between the members 5t), 51 and the member C.

When the seat is in set up position the legs B support the front part ofthe device and legs 52, 53, beingextensions of the rods 30 and 31,support the back porrespectively are panels 60 and 61 constituting theactual seat and back. These are held to the frames by screws 59. Thepanels 60 and 61 are joined together by a hinge 62. A mattress of foamrubber or other suitable material covers the panels 60 and 61.

The device is converted into the bed position Shown in Figure 2 bywithdrawing the bolt 44 and swinging the frame back about the bar 16 asa pivotal point, while pivoting the cross rods 36 and 37 outwards anddownwards as shown in Figure 4 to constitute the rear legs of thedevice.

As an extension to make a longer bed, a foot stool D is provided. Thisis made up of a circular metal frame 64 provided withdownwardly-extending legs 65. The frame is illed in with a base 66 andcovered with a foam rubber cushion 67. The parts 21 projecting beyondthe frame A include depressions 58 adapted to receive the underside ofthe frame 64.

Preferred form B Another preferred form of the device is shown in Figure8. TheV seat portion ismade up of spaced-apart vertical panels 70. Theback portion is made up of spacedapart vertical panels 71. Each panel 70includes a downwardly-extending foot portion 72 and arearwardly-extending connecting portion 73. Each back panel includes asubstantially straight end 74 which serves as a foot or bearing portionwhen the device is set up as a chair. The panel 71 includes anupwardly-extending portion constituting a back-supporting portion.

The panels 70 and 71 are pivoted together as at 76 so that they can beswung back and forth from chair position to bed position. A seat filler80 extends between the panels 70 and a back filler extends between thepanels 71. Leg members 83 are pivoted to each of the panels 71. Acushion covers the back and front fillers as in the construction shownin Figures 1 to 7.

i A stool E is provided to supplement the chair-bed member as inconnection with the structure of Figures 1 to 7. This is made up of legs85, a base panel 86 and a cover or cushion 87.

I claim:

1. Combination furniture, comprising a seat frame having spaced apartelongated structural side members, each side member secured to a seatpanel and having a downwardly extending leg at one end, a back frameincluding spaced apart elongated side members having portionssupportingV a back panel and each having an integral end portionextending angularly therefrom constituting a leg, a permanent pivotalconnection between the end of each seat side member remote from its legend and in intermediate part of each related back side member at a pointbetween the back panel supporting portion and the integral leg portionthereof providing for the back frame to be positioned either inalignment with the seat frame to form a bed or transverse to the seatframe to form a chair, and a rear leg member pivoted to cach back frameside member, the back frame leg members serving to vsupport the rear endof the back frame when the back frame is lowered to horizontal bedforming position.

2. Combination furniture, according to claim 1, in which said structuralside members are panels.

3. Combination furniture, according to claim l, in which said sidemembers are three-sided panels, the seat panel having a top edge, afront edge and a bottom edge, the top edge of the panel constitutingsaid supporting portion, the front and bottom edges defining the legportion, theY pivotal connection with the back` panel being between abottom edge and the top edge of the seat panel, each back panel havingone edge constituting the supporting portion, said edge and the adjacentedge defining a leg portion when in chair position and said second edgeand a third edge defining the leg when in bed position, the seat panelbeing pivoted to the back panel between the supporting portion and theleg portion, and back legs being pivoted to the back panel near thejunction of the first and third edges.

4. Combination furniture, according to claim l, wherein the seat sidemembers are made up of rods, the back side members are made up of rods,the back side members including a seat-supporting portion and legportion and intervening bent portion, a crossbar extending between therear ends of the side rods of the seat portion, the back being relatedto the seat portion so that the bends overlie the cross bar, a retainingmember connected to the back side bar and extending about said cross barwhereby the back bar is pivotally mounted to the cross bar.

5. Combination furniture, comprising, frames of tube or rod including aseat frame and a back frame pivoted thereto, the seat frame includingside bars and cross bars connected to the side bars, the back frameincluding side bars and an L-shaped member having an arm pivoted to eachside bar and an arm extending across the back to meet the companion armand having a releasable connection therewith, the back side bars eachhaving a bend dividing them into back supporting portions and legportions, the seat and back frames being related so that the bends restadjacent the rear cross bar, a retaining loop on the back side bar toconstitute with the side bar a journal surrounding the rear cross bar,and projections from the side bar at the bend to engage the side bar ofthe seat frame and so to limit the movement of the back frame relativeto the seat frame.

6. Combination furniture, comprising, a seat member having a front endand a back end and a back member having a front end and a back end, theback end of the seat member being pivotally connected to the front endof the back member whereby the back member can be pivoted into coplanarrelationship with the front member to form a bed or into angularrelationship therewith to form a chair, front leg members forming a partof the front end of the seat member, intermediate leg members form apart of the front end of the back member and angularly disposed thereto,and rear leg members pivotally mounted on the back end of the backmember, the intermediate leg members serving to support the intermediateportion of the furniture when in chair or bed position, the back legmembers being adapted to support the back end of the back member when inbed position but to be folded into stowed relationship to the backmember when the furniture is in chair position.

7. Combination furniture according to claim l in which there is provideda exible cover connected to and extending the entire length of the seatand back panels whereby the covering is in position as a mattress whenthe furniture is in bed position and as a seat cover and back cover whenthe furniture is in chair position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS677,483 Welles July 2, 1901 855,520 Margolin June 4, 1907 1,809,226Walter June 9, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS 634,008 Great Britain Mar. 2, 1948

